December 13, 2017 - The European Union announced aid worth 174.4 million euros under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to support refugees and host communities in the Horn of Africa region. Three new projects which will focus on creating employment opportunities and providing energy access to refugees and local populations will be implemented in Ethiopia with a total of 38.05 million euros, reports FBC

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica said, “with today's (yesterday) new actions worth €174.4 million, we are stepping up our support – to protect vulnerable migrants, to create economic opportunities on the ground and to foster stability in the region."

Similarly, 20 million euros will be channeled to Uganda, 15 million euros to Djibouti, 20 million euros to Sudan, 31.4 million e

December 13, 2017 - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Ms. Christine Lagarde, has started her visit to Ethiopia. During her stay in Ethiopia, the Managing Director will meet with different high-level Ethiopian government officials, including President Mulatu Teshome and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

She is scheduled to deliver speeches at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and African Union (AU) as well as visit the Eastern Industry Zone in Dukem and Hamlin Fistula Hospitals.

According to a statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to FBC today, Ethiopia joined IMF, an organization of 189 countries, in December 27, 1945.

During the past 72 years, from 1996-2010 in particular, Ethiopia obtained special credit and technical support from the organization, including

December 12, 2017 - Six Israeli police officers are being investigated after a video surfaced in which one of them is seen beating a 16-year-old of Ethiopian origin who was handcuffed to a bench. The officers are also suspected of distributing the video clip among their police co-workers. The incident occurred in April, when the teen was arrested on suspicion of assault. He was released from prison a few weeks ago after serving a sentence for the offense.

The Justice Ministry’s police conduct investigation unit is looking into the incident. The minor, who was drunk at the time, was handcuffed to a bench at the police station during questioning. The officers are suspected of ridiculing him as he shouted at them. At one point, one of the policemen can be seen slapping the suspect while the other officers can be seen laughing in th

December 11, 2017 - The Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer dismissed reports that Egyptian banks and other banks operating in the local market are financing the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

During the past two days, a photo of a document went viral on social media showing a list of banks, which allegedly has financed the construction of the GERD through the purchasing of bonds from the Ethiopian government with a 36% interest rate.

In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Amer said that the reports are “delirious, ridiculous, and completely disgraceful.”

A president of one of the major private banks operating in the local market, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the reports are illogical and incorrect, and aims to cause confusion and question the inte

December 10, 2017 - US Vice President, Mike Pence’s upcoming Egypt visit is now in jeopardy after Coptic leader Pope Tawadros II announced that he could not meet with American officials in light of the decision by the United States to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The Coptic Orthodox Church apologizes to Vice President Mike Pence for the necessity of canceling his scheduled meeting with Pope Twadros,” said church spokesman Father Bolis Halim. “Now is not a suitable time for such an audience because of the hurt feelings of millions of people in Egypt and the region.”

The visit to Cairo by Vice President Pence had been positioned as an American initiative to put a global spotlight on the vulnerable situation of the region’s Christians, but President Donald Trump’s move t

December 10, 2017 - Ethiopian police in northern Amhara regional state said that 18 people had been charged over the deadly football riot earlier this month, reports Xinhua.

One December 3, 2017, clashes between fans of two Ethiopian clubs namely, Mekelle city football club and Woldiya city football club, turned into a riot that left two people dead and vandalism of residential and business sites.

Amare Goshu, Commander of North Wollo Zone Police Department in Amhara, said another 31 people arrested relating to the riot have been released for a lack of evidence.

He further said his police department is working with religious figures and community elders to ensure calm in Woldiya city.

December 10, 2017 - A German tourist, who was confirmed dead in an attack in Northeastern Ethiopia, has been identified as Walter Roepert (MD) from Aalen, Germany. The German citizen who was an ear, nose and throat specialist died on the scene while his translator survived and is said to be treated at a nearby hospital.

The incident was said to have happened near a volcanic lake at Erta Ale inside the Danakil Depression near the Eritrean border. The 63-year-old medical doctor was said to be attacked along with his tourist guide, taking pictures while he came face-to-face with armed men that shot both of them close-up. The Ethiopian government has blamed Eritrea and has promised to reiterate. Eritrea has downplayed the accusation.

Dr. Roepert was traveling to Ethiopia on a private adventure after working with Humedica, an

December 8, 2017 - The Government of Djibouti has announced a 45 percent price discount in all port services in the newly built Doraleh Multipurpose Port, reports Ethiopian News agency. The reduction of price will be applicable in all cargo, dry bulk and vehicles, CEO the port, Wahib Dahir Aden said.

The adjustment in the price of port services came as per the decision of the government of Djibouti.

The systems of operations and services that Djibouti has introduced at the Doraleh Multipurpose Port have transformed the industry.

Djibouti has been providing services at five specialized ports including the old Port of Djibouti and DMP and aims to become a regional logistics hub.

December 13, 2017 - In a statement sent to Ezega.com, the US Embassy expressed concern about the recent unrest and deaths in some parts of the country and univeristies. Here is the full statement sent by the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

"We are troubled and saddened by reports of violence that has resulted in deaths and injuries in the town of Chelenko and at several universities over the past two days. We extend our condolences to the families and friends of the victims."

"It is important that the Ethiopian government ensure the safety of all Ethiopian citizens, and hold accountable those responsible for violence."

"We encourage the people of Ethiopia to uphold their admirable and longstanding tradition of respect for their country’s ethnic diversity and its tradition of peaceful co-

December 13, 2017 - Following clashes between ethnic groups in some parts of Ethiopia, Ethiopians are facing social media blackout as Facebook and Twitter are down, reports fox news.

Oromia regional spokesman Addisu Arega said the violence in Chelenqo town killed six people and was being investigated. On Facebook he called the victims "innocent civilians."The Addis Standard news site reported 15 killed, including women and children. The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the reports.

Oromia regional officials have long accused special police from the neighboring Somali region of committing atrocities against ethnic Oromos. The regions also have had bitter border disputes.

The United States embassy, which pledged to help resolve the conflict and support 660,000 displaced

December 12, 2017 - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has declared a state of emergency in three states and ordered an immediate disarmament exercise for up to three months. The South Sudanese president also authorized his soldiers to use force if armed civilians did not lay down their weapons peacefully.

And he has political backing. Dhoruai Mabor Teny, an MP for a county in Western Lakes, had earlier encouraged the president to suspend the constitution and deploy the military.

At least 170 people have been killed in tribal clashes in one of the northern states - Western Lakes - in recent weeks.

The violence in Western Lakes has been between armed youths from two rival Dinka sub-clans which has involved the burning of houses and the destruction of property.

December 12, 2017 - Over the last three months Ethiopia has earned 31.2 million USD from textile and garment export, disclosed the Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute. The Institute also stated that the foreign currency generated from the textile sector has been steadily growing.

Institute Communication Directorate Director Bantihun Gessesse told The Ethiopian Herald that textile products have entered into Germany, Italy, China and United States through AGOA.

The burgeoning of the textile industries triggers the expansion of cotton farming by public, private sector and small scale farmers. Currently, the total cotton farm being cultivated has reached 42,000 hectares of land. The domestic cotton production could satisfy the local demand, he added.

December 11, 2017 - Following a series of organizational meetings and deep evaluations, the new exective committe of the TPLF has assigned its members various duties. The committe highlighted the need for renewed focus on both regional and national issues. Accordingly, the 9-member executive committe has assigned its members the following tasks.

December 10, 2017 - The United States government stated that it is looking at “comprehensive approaches” to extend humanitarian assistance as well as help resolve tensions that caused over 660,000 internally displaced people in the eastern part of Ethiopia.

In his meeting with members of the media at the US Embassy,Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Donald Yamamoto said that the US foreign secretary under Trump administration is committed to keep boosting relations with sub-Saharan countries including Ethiopia that he called a “core partner”.

Among a host of issues he discussed on the occasion, he indicated that the US has been working globally with its allies to cooperate and address the issue of refugees. As part of its global commitments, the US government is now looking at the i

December 8, 2017 - 10,000 undocumented Ethiopian citizens residing in Saudi Arabia were repatriated from November 15 - December 5, 2017, according to announcement from the Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian government also stated that it is undertaking rehabilitation work for its citizens who returned from the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia back in March had given a 90-day amnesty of undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave, but had extended the amnesty several times since then. More than 70,000 undocumented Ethiopian migrants took advantage of the Saudi amnesty which ended in June to return home.

However, it's estimated several hundred thousand undocumented Ethiopian migrants still live in Saudi Arabia.

With a population currently at around 30 million and a squeeze in international oil price, Saudi Arabia is on a drive to in

December 8, 2017 - Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Meles Alem, stated that Ethiopia has no intention to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reports Middle East monitor.

Speaking at a press conference, the ministry’s spokesperson, Meles Alem, stressed that US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem applies to “the United States alone”.

“We, as part of the African Union, endorse the two-state solution,” Alem added.

On Wednesday, the US President Donald Trump announced his decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move the US embassy to the city.

World leaders, from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, slammed the decision as a “unilateral step warnin

December 7, 2017 - Egypt has “many alternatives” to deal with the stalled technical negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with Ethiopia and Sudan, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati quoted by arabs news as saying. The minister said that Egypt had tried to make the construction of the dam a point of cooperation, not a source of disagreement. In the light of these attempts, Egypt had signed the Declaration of Principles, but the other side had not reached a solution.

“Egypt’s water security is an integral part of its national security,” Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at the forum. “Egypt is following the talks with great concern, because Ethiopia does not have enough inclination for cooperation and coordinat

December 6, 2017 - Ethiopia has been using the services of Israeli software security company called Elbit Systems to eavesdrop on EThiopian opposition figures living in the United States, Canada, Germany and other places, according to reports from Citizen Lab, US News & World Report, Wired.com, and several other media organizations.

According to the reports, in 2016 and 2017, individuals in Canada, United States, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, and other countries began to receive suspicious emails. The emails contained links, which when clicked, were meant to download monitoring software onto target computers. One such email was received by Jawar Mohammed, an Oromo activist living in the US. He forwarded the email to Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, an organization that tries to protect political act

December 6, 2017 - Ethiopian Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas disclosed that it has issued a large-scale gold and silver mining license for the Ethio-Canada company, Harvest Plc.

The Ethiopian Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Motuma Mekassa, and Wubshet Kassaye, manager of Harvest Plc, signed the agreement which will run for a period of six years and subjected for renewal for up to ten years.

The company was licensed to carry out mining activities in western Tigray zone, norther part of Ethiopia, on 2.7682 square kilometers of land at a cost of over 65.29 million US dollars, according to the ministry.

The company is expected to produce 2,080kg of gold and 8,968kg of silver over the coming four years, besides creating employment opportunities for 120 Ethiopians.

December 6, 2017 - Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa City Administration has launched a cleaning campaign to be conducted on every last Saturday of Ethiopian month, reports Ethiopian news agency. The universal integrated cleaning campaign aimed to create clean and beautiful city was announced at a public mobilization forum held today.

In his opening speech to the forum, Mayor Driba Kuma said the main objective of the universal integrated cleaning campaign is realizing active public and private sectors involvement in creating clean, beautiful and comfortable Addis Ababa.He stated that the city administration has been implementing various programs to enhance the goal of creating clean and beautiful Addis Ababa and the role of the public and private sector is also increasing.

According to the report, the two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue held in Rome. Shoukry and Al-Jubeir discussed the latest developments in the region.

Shoukry also discussed Egyptian efforts in achieving Palestinian reconciliation and how to enable the national accord government to do its job in the Gaza Strip, as well as reviving the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

For his part, Al-Jubeir presented his condolences to Egypt for Al-Rawda Mosque terrorist attack where not less 310 were killed last week in North Sinai.

November 10, 2017 - Ethiopia’s government has forecast an overall 11 percent economic growth this Ethiopian fiscal year. The forecast by Ethiopian National Plan Commission is based on the performance of the first quarter of the budget year and an increase by 0.1 percent to that of last year.

In his presentation to HPR Budget and Finance Standing Committee today, National Plan Minister Dr. Yinager Dessie said Ethiopia’s economic growth has resulted in minimizing poverty and expansion of social services.

However, the country has been facing challenges in the export sector since the past four years.

The product most affected in this regard is the sluggish gold export, the Minister revealed, adding that the Commission is conducting a research in the overall chain of gold export.

Dr. Yinager disclosed that lack of quality and timely reports from the co

November 8, 2017 - Ethiopia’s rank on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, prepared by World Bank, has not changed for another year and it now ranks 161 out of 190 countries, reports Addis Fortune. The report is said to provide comparative overview of the business climate in the 190 nations that are included in the report.

The report is based on several factors that affect how easy or difficult it is to start and run business. At 161 ranking, Ethiopia is one of most difficult countries in the world to start and run a business. This is despite the country's ambition to transform itself into middle class economy by 2025. Such business climate can hardly support this lofty objective.

Ethiopia did not make much improvement in the last 7 years when it started facilitating business. To the contrary, it's rank fell from 104, wh

October 16, 2017 - Christopher Bader of Chapman University, which has released its fourth annual Survey of American Fears, notes that there has been a marked shift in American public fears in 2017. "Environmental fears" are prominent in the 10 biggest fears of Americans for the first time. In fact, four of the top 10 fears are environment related.

For the third year in a row, "corruption of government officials" took the top spot. But pollution of drinking water and oceans appeared in the top 10 for the first time, as did new fear "TrumpCare," which took the runner-up spot nabbed by "terrorist attacks" in 2016.

The International Business Times calls this "a clear reflection of the political unrest and uncertainty in the wake of Donald Trump's election as president." Participants were asked about "80 different fears acros

October 10, 2017 - Ethiopian central bank devalued the Ethiopian Birr by 15 percent on Tuesday, the first in seven years to boost lagging exports, according to reports.

The birr was quoted by the National Bank of Ethiopia at a weighted average of 23.4177 against the dollar on Monday, compared to what will be 26.9215.

"The devaluation was made to prop up exports, which have stagnated the last five years owing to the birr's strong value against major currencies," Yohannes Ayalew, the bank's vice governor, told a news conference in the capital Addis Ababa.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, have been advising the Ethiopian government to consider devaluing its currency to boost exports as they are mostly unprocessed products and need to stay competitive on price.

August 9, 2017 - Income inequality has been growing rapdily in much of the world in recent years, but nowhere as profound as in the United States. In the US, beginning in the 1980s, whereas income growth for most Americans has been going down, income growth for the top few has been skyrocketing in an unprecented way.

A well-known team of inequality researchers — Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman — has been getting some attention recently for a chart it produced. It shows the change in income between 1980 and 2014 for every point on the income distribution, and it neatly summarizes the recent soaring of inequality.

The red line on the chart resembles a classic hockey-stick graph. It’s mostly flat and close to zero, before spiking upward at the end. That spike shows that the very affluent, and only the very affluent, have received significant raise

August 9, 2017 - I met Tesfaye Sahlu, aka Ababa Tesfaye (Father Tesfaye), about seven years ago in one of the cafes around 22 Mazoria in Addis Ababa. I and a friend of mine were stunned to see our childhood hero and one of the most respected TV personalities when we were kids, in a café trying to sell one of his books. Ababa Tesfaye at the time carried several copies of his children’s story books and was going from table to table, just showing the front cover of his books. He wasn’t speaking much nor asking people to buy his books. He was just going around the tables showing the cover. If people didn’t show interest, he will just move on to the next table quietly. If they buy, which many did, he accepted the money and politely said thank you. We sat in disbelief, watching his movements in the café and waiting until he reach